


hold on to me 'cause i'm a little unsteady

by Analyse (D_Willims)



Category: Cloak & Dagger (TV 2018), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/M, I've Been Wrecked by Season 2
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-02
Updated: 2019-06-02
Packaged: 2020-04-06 09:37:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 696
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19060027
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/D_Willims/pseuds/Analyse
Summary: Tandy's mind unravels in a motel room.





	hold on to me 'cause i'm a little unsteady

**Author's Note:**

> Fic title from "Unsteady" by X Ambassadors.

The problem is motels all look the same. The wallpaper from the ‘70s and thin, stained carpeting. The same floral bedspreads. The same tacky watercolor paintings inexplicably glued to the walls. The same chlorine and stale alcohol smells. The same bumps in the night.

Tandy tries to breathe through it. Sits on the end and listens to Tyrone’s even breathing behind her. Tries to match her breathing to his but it keeps coming up short, burning her lungs. Every time she hears footsteps down the hall, she stops breathing completely. She closes her eyes but she’s too aware of the sticky carpet beneath her feet. Draws them up and curls her legs under her. It doesn’t help. Nothing helps.

A doorknob rattles and, for a moment, she thinks it’s theirs. For a moment, she think it’s…

“Daddy?” Her voice cracks with fear. _Despair_. Tandy swallows a sob and curls her fingers tight in the ugly bedspread. Forces her eyes open. The room is empty; the door is closed.

Behind her, Tyrone makes a weird snuffling noise. Doesn’t wake up but stirs. His foot kicks up against her hip and Tandy nearly tumbles off the bed. She wants nothing more than to lay down, to curl up under his arm, and to press into his chest.

To sleep dreamlessly until morning.

Eventually, Tandy stands. She strips off the baggy shirt she’d borrowed from Tyrone to sleep in. Then, she pulls on a pair of ripped jeans and a tight tee, shoves her feet into a pair of worn sneakers.

“I’ll be back,” she whispers into the dark. Puts her knee on the edge of the bed and leans forward to press a kiss against his forehead. Anxiously, her fingers twitch over her shoulder and she smooths the blankets down over him again. “You won’t even miss me.”

There’s a bar across the street. There’s always a bar across the street. And a boy who looks like Liam because there’s always a boy who looks like Liam. He kisses her neck and feeds her shots and doesn’t even notice when she palms a little baggie of pills from his pocket.

She doesn’t take the pills. She means to. But she ends up staring in the bathroom mirror, under the harsh fluorescents. And watches as the fingers of shadows play across her face and cradle her cheeks. Wiping way tears. _You’re safe_ , the shadows seem to whisper. _I’m here_.

So Tandy splashes cold water on her face. Stumbles out of the bar and across the street. She bypasses the stairs to the pool. It seems like it’s illuminated from within by the light of the unnaturally blue water. Ignoring the sign that declares _POOL CLOSES 10PM_ , Tandy climbs over the little wooden railing. She kicks off her sneakers and rolls up the cuffs of her jeans. Settles on the edge and slips her feet under the cool water.

It’s hard to know how much time has passed before she hears another pair of sneakers on the concrete, the unmistakable thud of them being kicked off. “I missed you,” Tyrone says behind her. He sits, drapes long legs over either side of her hips. Kicks at the water and splashes her.

“Tyrone Johnson, all slick and sweet,” Tandy scolds as Tyrone brings his arms around her waist. “I bet you say that to all the girls.”

“All the girls don’t make me work as hard as you.” He huffs a soft, half-laugh against her neck and rests his chin on her shoulder. “We could find a meeting, if you want. They have them everywhere.”

 _Everywhere_. She shudders. Meeting are like motel rooms. All the same. Church basements and neglected community centers. Leaders tripping on their own power. “You looking to fight another god?” she deflects. She curls her hands into fists against her thighs. The plastic baggie crumples audibly, too loudly in the night.

“Shoot, with you by my side? I’m unstoppable.” He rests his hands on her thighs, too, just in front of hers. “Pancakes or waffles?”

“Waffles,” she says. Tentatively, she reaches out to lay her palms flat against his, the little pills sandwiched in between them. “Always.”

**Author's Note:**

> Just for clarification's sake: the part where Tandy says "Daddy?" is a reference to the truly fucked up part in the finale where she's mentally back in that motel room and her dad comes through the door not the john. It's not an endorsement of incest nor should should it be taken as Tandy wanting her father.


End file.
